Stopping off in Columbia to see Uncle Tom and Aunt Grace is always a powerful time of prayer. Celebrating their 51st wedding anniversary they are blessed by God. Grace stayed up till 1 am with me, and we prayed big and bold and color-filled blessings and prayers on everyone in our families.

Praying the Word of God over each one individually.

At the beach we sunned and swam every day, just the three of us, and occasionally Rick and Laura after work at Corolla Chapel.

I missed the family that had sat beside me the 27 previous years –with our Lord, or off to college, college bound and others spending their vacation elsewhere.

North Carolina was our state. My husband born in Chapel Hill, our daughter’s summers here at her grandparents’ beach house and my summers for 27 years.

We played new games and visited different spots rediscovering the Outer Banks.

I checked out of email, FB, text and all the rest.

The spaciousness of the ocean and expansion of my time with my family turned my attention upward Praising God and lifting everyone, many of you who are deeply hurting in intercession to our Lord. I am certain He is going to change your situation or your struggle.

Todd had begun preparing the soup early in the morning when the distinctively sweet and spicy smell of Old Bay seasoning, the aroma our family associates with our family vacations for over twenty-five years on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, worked its way down the stairs and into my bedroom. It was the arrival of a time-honored family beach vacation tradition — crabs! Only this day we would be enjoying crab soup for Sunday dinner when we returned from our Sunday morning worship at the Corolla Chapel. His inspiration? An old Maryland crab house named Eats his family used to stop at every year as kids while driving down the Eastern sea board. They all agree it is the best crab soup they have ever eaten, and strangely, he has perfected his efforts over the years using turkey, a suitable substitute when crabs are not readily available or cost prohibitive.

As a pastor my husband serves every day caring for the needs of others and inspiring and enriching all our lives, especially mine. We have dined at many fine Outer Banks restaurants over the years, but my favorite dining has always been at the beach house and enjoying my husband’s cooking, a creative outlet for him and a break for me.

12 Blue Claw Crabs, steamed and ready to go for the soup
From these, remove the dead man (lungs) and discard, then pull off the legs and separate the shell, saving to boil for a broth added to the soup.

From the chest piece, break chest in half, leaving the meat inside and placing these large pieces into the broth with the claws.
Old Bay seasoning to taste. My husband uses a lot!

Looking for a great family project? The Southards are enjoying food, fun and funding the Chapel building fund! Here is an example how we have noshed locally from the Currituck Sound supporting a local fisherman, who also attends the Corolla Chapel here on the Outer Banks.

Last night was our crab feast.

Buddy, the local crabber caught one bushel of crabs for our traditional crab night at “Dolphins Watch II”. Interesting fact about the feast; no females are consumed only “Jimmy” male crabs to be good stewards of Currituck Sound conservancy and allowing the generations of families yet to visit the Outer Banks sweet blue claw crabs. While attending the “Moms Class” in Tuscon Arizona I learned the importance of ” make do” eco-fashionable crafts for Christ (term from Barbara Tompkins). We all had a desire to create gifts to bring back to friends and family, but a large piece of our creative spur came from raising money for the Corolla Chapel, the local church where we love to worship the Lord surrounded by families visiting from around the globe. Last Sunday our guests were visiting from Germany and England.

Uncle Tom, the nieces and nephews fav Uncle, has taught Sabrina and Chase the basics of boiling Blue Crabs and today we are using the shells to create art. The Southard family is heavy with artistic talent, especially the visual arts. Camille loves to paint and play piano, Tom and little Chef love the culinary arts and all are patiently working with the crab shells making Christmas ornaments to sell and make a little coin for our beloved Corolla Chapel. The Chapel is currently feeding three families in the area, and the church asked the children if there was anything they would love to have in their food basket? Mary Ellen quoted a very reticent boy, who said “I always hope for something crunchy”.

The entire Southard clan of 15 on the front two rows of the Corolla Chapel were saddened when they heard the boy’s statement (except for baby Christian who is always smiling), and hearts broke simultaneously…

At Uncle Tom’s suggestion, we cleaned the crab shells after eating them, spray painted them blue, white or gold and when dry, the children all painted pictures reminiscent of the past week.

The church can sell those creations of the crabby crafters to attendees of the Chapel as souvenirs of their vacation on the Outer Banks.